With Danilo Gallinari out of the game because of a knee injury -- a source close to the situation said Gallo thinks it's an ACL tear -- Nuggets teammate Andre Iguodala made a stupendous drive from the right wing. Dre hit the left-handed layup, with 2.8 seconds left, giving Denver the lead Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

"I whispered to A.I.: 'If they're disrupting Andre (Miller), you've got to go,' and he finished the shot," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "It's a win, but it doesn't feel as exuberant."

Corey Brewer then blocked Anthony Morrow's shot at the buzzer, and the Nuggets won at home 95-94 in the second game of a back-to-back set.

But the Gallinari injury looks bad. A source close to the situation said Gallinari "heard a pop" when his knee buckled and that Gallo "thinks it's a torn ACL."

Denver's No. 2 scorer buckled his left knee in the second quarter, collapsing to the floor. It looked bad. Real bad. Gallinari is scheduled for an MRI on Friday morning, but the way he hobbled off the court, fell upon a stretcher and screamed in pain, it would suggest it looked more severe than a sprain.

"I can't deny — it didn't look good," Karl said. "I usually look at the player's face. He was scared. ... But I've had ones look bad and (the MRI) turned out to be OK. Nene went down a couple of years ago and it was just a sprain."

Gallinari entered the night averaging 16.3 points per game, and he's a key cog in the Nuggets' machine, playing small forward, floating 3s and driving hard to the hoop.

Here's how it happened: In the second quarter, Gallinari was on the right perimeter when he darted past Dirk Nowitzki, dribbling with his left hand from near the top of the key. Open and now near the basket, Gallinari tried to plant his left leg and jump, but the leg buckled with 4:27 left in the quarter. He hobbled for a few moments and then fell to the hardwood on the baseline, while the game continued. Soon, play stopped and trainers, coaches and teammates rushed to the small forward. He used teammates as crutches to get toward the tunnel to leave the court, where he landed on the stretcher.

In the second half, Brewer started at small forward, but it's possible that if Gallinari is out for the season, Wilson Chandler could start for Denver, with Brewer providing his usual spark off the bench.

Ty Lawson (heel) remains sidelined, but Karl has suggested the point guard could return in a week or two. The playoffs begin April 20 — two weekends away.

"It's tough, you never want to see anyone go down, especially a guy like Gallo, who's so important to us," Brewer said. "But we're going to fight through it. It's going to be tough on us. We were just trying to keep his spirits high."

The Nuggets battled Thursday. Dallas had been in the Mile High City the night before, relaxing while the Nuggets played at Utah.

The Nuggets' Andre Iguodala leaps while looking to make a pass as Mavericks forward Jae Crowder watches during the first half Thursday. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

On the other end, Kenneth Faried was fouled shooting, but missed both foul shots. But Brewer was there again, this time nabbing the offensive rebound before falling out of bounds and passed to Faried. Denver called a timeout with 7.7 seconds left, setting up the Iguodala basket.

Brewer, traded by Dallas to Denver before last season, scored 23 points off the bench on 7-for-17 shooting, while 37-year-old Miller, starting for Lawson, tallied 22 points and seven assists.

And Iguodala, who helped the defense keep Dallas to 22.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, had eight points, nine boards and eight assists.

The Nuggets are 52-24 and third in the West.

Nuggets guard Andre Miller goes up for a shot over Mavericks guard Mike James in the first half Thursday at the Pepsi Center. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

"I was really proud with how we fought," Karl said. "It's what I say all the time — winning playing poorly against a good team is usually a pretty good sign. ... We win the game with Wilson (Chandler) and Corey's hustle play and the guts of Andre Miller."

But the Gallo news looms.

"You've got to play the cards you're dealt in the NBA, especially when it comes to injuries," Iguodala said. "That's why it's so important for the ninth and 10th men to always be mentally ready.

"Now it's time for somebody to step up and just see if they've been preparing themselves for any given situation."

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missed: The Nuggets have won 19 consecutive games at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets' record for a win streak at home is 20 (1984-85). ... O.J. Mayo, one of the Mavericks' top players, scored only four points. He's been battling a shoulder injury and he fouled out after just 23 minutes played. ... The Nuggets had 18 second-chance points, while Dallas had nine. ... Only 10 3-pointers were made in the game. Denver was 6-for-17; Dallas was 4-for-18.

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